World Bird Sanctuary Tea Blend from Trail Lodge Tea

This black tea blend has a full bodied and smooth taste. For every 2 oz package that is purchased, $2 is donated to the World Bird Sanctuary. If you purchase a 4 oz package, $4 will be donated. The World Bird Sanctuary is based in Valley Park, MO. It’s mission is to preserve the earth’s biological diversity and to secure the future of threatened bird species in their natural environments. It does this through education, propogation, field studies and rehabilitation. Now you can enjoy a great cup of tea and help preserve threatened bird species at the same time. Ingredients: Black Tea, Cornflower and Safflower Petals, and Natural Flavors.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This World Bird Sanctuary Tea Blend from Trail Lodge Tea is an interesting blend. The aroma of the dry leaf is earthy and slightly smoky, with hints of flower and fruit. The brewed tea smells a little less smoky, but maintains its earthy, floral, and fruity fragrance. I still am picking up on hints of smoke, but, they are very distant.

Because this is a black and green tea leaf blend, I used a lower temperature to steep the tea, opting for a 185°F temperature and a 2.5 minute brew time. The flavor is primarily a black tea taste … earthy, somewhat sweet, with floral notes. It has a moderate astringency to it.

The green tea is not as noticeable as the black tea … but, where it is noticed is in the body … it is not quite as heavily bodied as a tea comprised of only black tea. It is still certainly what I’d consider a full-bodied tea, but it is not quite as hefty as, say, a straight up Assam or even a straight up Ceylon. There is also a vegetative note to this that is more noticeable as I continue to sip that is definitely ‘green tea-like’.

Trail Lodge Tea does not elaborate on the flavoring that is used to create this blend, but as I continue to sip, a definite fruit note seems to emerge … it tastes peach-y … or possibly apricot-peach-y. It is sweet and quite lovely, actually. I like that the flavor here isn’t overdone. It is mild and allows the blend of black and green teas to be the focus.

The floral notes here are delicate, which isn’t surprising to me, as I tend to find both Cornflowers and Safflower petals to be very mild petals and are often used not so much to flavor a tea but rather, to color the blend with some visual appeal. And these petals certainly do that … and they do add just a hint of floral taste to the cup too.

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Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see.
Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog!
Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!